Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Vilnius
1998
UDK 802.0(075.8)
Sk-15
A PHONETIC AID
for Students of English
Compiled by Jonas Skarulis
Vilnius, 1998. - 84 p.
ISBN 9986-869-26-9
J. Skarulis
CONTENTS
PREFACE ................................................................................. 5
PART ONE
Stress and Rhythm .................................................................... 7
PART TWO
The Anatomy of English Intonation ..................................... 16
PART THREE
Intonation Patterns and Their Attitudinal Meanings ...... 24
The Low Fall Pattern ......................................................................... 24
The High Fall Pattern ........................................................................ 31
The Rise-Fall Pattern ........................................................................ 36
The Low Rise Pattern ........................................................................ 39
The High Rise Pattern ....................................................................... 46
The Fall-Rise Pattern ........................................................................ 49
PART FOUR
A Phonetic Reader ................................................................. 55
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................. 83
PREFACE
This teaching aid is designed for first year students majoring in
English. Itmay be used after the introductory course and in the second
term.
The teaching aid aims at acquainting the students with different
stress patterns and the main intonation patterns of English.
Part One contains twenty two exercises on rhythm and stress from
Living English Speech by W. S. Allen.
Part Two and Part Three are excerpts from Intonation of Colloquial
English by J. D. OConnor and G. F. Arnold. Part Two acquaints the
students with the anatomy of English intonation, the constituent parts of
intonation patterns and the system of phonetic notation which is widely
used in teaching and learning practice. Part Three deals with six intonation
patterns (each of which is based on one of the six main nuclear tones)
and their attitudinal meanings. Each description of an intonation pattern
and its meanings is followed by a recorded exercise which should be
regarded as a lab assignment. The student is given an opportunity to master
the intonation patterns individually by going through the drills in each
exercise.
Part Four is a Phonetic Reader. All the texts included in the Reader
are recorded by native speakers of English. They illustrate genuine English
usage of intonation and represent normative English pronunciation. The
texts can be used for reading practice, for listening comprehension, for
role playing. Besides students will have an opportunity to enrich their
active and passive vocabulary. The shorter poetry pieces should be learnt
by heart. They give good practice in rhythm, stress and intonation and
help consolidate the required pronunciation skills.
5
Part One
STRESS AND RHYTHM
&
Exercise 1.
KEY PATTERN: XX
come here / look out / where to? / inside / no more / speak up / sit down/
say yes / try hard / wash up / break down / ask John / go slow / not
now/ where from? / which one? / hold tight / in time / no use / please
do/ no, thanks / yes,please / no good / all right / run fast / work hard /
whos that / thats true / just then / write soon / read this.
7
&
Exercise 2.
KEY PATTERN: XxX
try again / not enough / look inside / show me yours / do it now / not so
fast / lend the hand / cut the bread / make the tea / run away / go to sleep/
have adrink / break it up / what is that? / whats it for? / practice hard/
sing a song/ write it down / draw a line / thats a lie / take it home /
having lunch / who are you? / wheres he from? / hurry up / move along/
light the fire / cold as ice / change your shoes / wheres your hat / time
for bed / heres some tea / half an hour / long ago / cant be done / quite
unknown / just in front / ill in bed.
&
Exercise 3.
KEY PATTERN: xXx
Exercise 4.
KEY PATTERN: xXxx
Exercise 5.
KEY PATTERN: XxxX
writing it now / send him away / reading aloud / terribly slow / give him
a book/ what is the time? / sing us a song / running away / top of the
class / hardly enough / throw it away / send me a card / give me a ring/
8
playing a game / meet me tonight / where have they gone? / where have
you been? / what have you done? / what is it for? / show me the way /
pouring with rain / gone for a walk/ come for a swim / heavy as lead /
killed in the war / give him some food / time and again / no-one is in /
cutting the grass / chopping some wood / leave it alone/ not before tea/
ready for lunch / when you have time / not before then/ wait till I
come/ falling asleep / what can you see? / just for a while / what did
you do? / get into bed / leave it behind / do it again / write it in ink /
see you tonight / lots to be done / now were alone / out of the way /
switch off the light.
&
Exercise 6.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxx
Ive eaten them all / a beautiful one / I think it will be / I promised him
it / to satisfy them / I thought it had been / a tablespoonful / interrogate
them/ he wanted us to / a penny or two / in spite of it all / he ought to
have had / a long time ago / an exercise book / Ive written to them / we
know what it is / to polish it with / the middle of it / a quarter of them /
I gave it to her / its necessary / a party-member / we had to do it / the
railway station.
&
Exercise 7.
KEY PATTERN: xXxX
I want to know / to do it well / another time / its quite all right / she
tied it up / a piece of string / he had to go / its very good / its hard to
say / but hurry up / she took it off / they put them on / shes most
upset / another day / they mustnt know / he locked the door / its
much too big / a waste of time / theyve gone away / its all for you /
he wants to learn / Id love to help / a glass of wine / across the road/
its not for sale.
&
Exercise 8.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxX
Exercise 9.
KEY PATTERN: XxxxX
Exercise 10.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxxX
&
Exercise 11.
KEY PATTERN: xXxXx
Exercise 12.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxXxx
Exercise 13.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxxXxxx
us/ took it to a watch-repairer / the doctor didnt see the patient / she
bought some new pyjamas for him / but wheres the glass you are drinking
out of ? / this isnt quite the moment for it / perhaps you didnt realise
it/ Id like it with some soda water / I think he did it beautifully / a
teaspoonful of salad dressing.
&
Exercise 14.
KEY PATTERN: XxxxxX
show him to his room / throw it into the fire / walking along the road /
thats to be left alone / ready to go away / standing behind the door / why
did you run away ? / tell her not to be late / sew it on to my coat / ask
them where they have been / show me what you have done / sing me
another song / whats the name of the book ? / multiply it by three /
opposite the hotel / suffering from the cold / bury it in the ground /
polish it with a cloth / fill it up to the top / finish it if you can.
&
Exercise 15.
KEY PATTERN: xXxXxX
I think he wants to go / its not the one I want / it isnt quite the same/
I havent been before / I cant believe its true / the train is very late/
he hasnt got a chance / Im sorry I forgot / there isnt time to change/
I hope you understand / they played a game of bridge / the concert
starts at eight / he goes to work on foot / he travels home by train /
Im sure my husband knows / afraid my wife is ill / she has to stay in
bed / the fire is nearly out / its all the same to me / excuse my being
late / I didnt know the way / the roads are very dark / I couldnt see
the house / perhaps youd care to wait / Ill see them both at once / it
doesnt matter much / I cant afford a car / he practised every day / a
spoonful every hour.
&
Exercise 16.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxXxxX
Exercise 17.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxxXxxxX
Exercise 18.
KEY PATTERN: xXxXxXx
&
Exercise 19.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxXxxXxx
Exercise 20.
KEY PATTERN: XxxxxxX
buy her a pretty new dress / honey and strawberry jam / when are
you going away? / what have you done with the ink / go to another
hotel / hurrying off to the train / working as hard as they can /
coming back home in a bus / take it away to be cleaned / that can
be seen at a glance/ wearing a funny old hat / giving him a cigarette/
why have they left you alone? / where have you hidden the key? /
nearly as far as the bridge.
&
Exercise 21.
KEY PATTERN: xXxXxXxX
I think he wants to go there too / you ought to know the way by now / he
did his best to save the child / the snow was falling thick and fast / I
know you didnt mean to hurt / thats not the way to fold a coat / I told
him not to go away / she looks a little pale to me / he has to go to work
at eight / I always like a cup of tea / its time the children went to bed /
they used to go to bed at six / a glass of beer is what I need / he left the
room without a word / he used to play it very well / I saw her standing all
alone / I cant forget the things he said / they said they had to leave at
once / youll have to do it all again.
14
&
Exercise 22.
KEY PATTERN: xXxxXxxXxxX... etc.
15
Part Two
THE ANATOMY OF
ENGLISH INTONATION
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF INTONATION
In all languages there are variations of pitch. When we talk about English
intonation we mean the pitch patterns of spoken English, the speech tunes or
melodies, the musical features of English.
Utterances which are different only in respect to intonation may differ
from each other in meaning.
English speakers are able to make a good deal of allowance for imperfect
sound-making, but they are much less able to make the same allowance for
mistakenly used tones.
SENSE GROUPS
We neither think nor speak in single words; we express our thoughts in
closely-knit groups of words which contribute to the situations in which we
are placed at a given moment. Such groups of words are called s e n s e
g r o u p s. They are usually separated from each other by pauses, which are
marked by means of vertical bars.
16
E.g.
one. The first of these syllables is stressed, i.e. said with a greater effort than
the second, which is unstressed. The six tunes will now be as follows and here
we use large dots to represent the stressed syllable and smaller dots to represent
the unstressed syllable.
Low fall: Twenty.
or
Fall-rise: Twenty.
The similarities with the treatment of Two are obvious, but there are
some differences which must be noticed. In the two rising tunes the stressed
syllable is level in pitch and there is no upward glide as there is with Two,
but rather a jump from the pitch of the stressed to that of the unstressed
syllable, in other words the rise is not complete before the end of the sense
group. In the same way the Fall-rise is spread over the two syllables and not
completed on the first.
syllable is called the n u c l e u s of the tune, and all syllables following the
nucleus are called the t a i l .
The rises and falls which take place on the nucleus or start from it are
known as n u c l e a r t o n e s, of which there are six. By definition there can
be no prominent word in the tail, but the examples show that the tail may
contain stressed words; stress alone therefore, after the nucleus, does not imply
accent. The last prominent word is accented, that is, made to stand out, not by
stress alone, but a combination of stress and pitch features.
In order to give a fairly complete picture of the intonation of the
examples, we have used a graphic of large and small dots. It is more convenient
in practice to use a shorter method of marking the intonation. This consists of
placing a single symbol immediately before the nucleus to indicate the nuclear
tone; this symbol tells us, by its position and its shape, which syllable is the
nucleus of the tune and which of the six main endings is to be used.
Low fall: Two. Twenty.
High fall: Two. Twenty.
Rise-fall: Two. Twenty.
Low rise: Two. Twenty.
High rise: Two. Twenty.
Fall-rise: Two. Twenty.
Unstressed syllables in the tail have no separate symbol, but stressed
syllables are marked. The symbol [] is placed immediately before each stressed
syllable on, or beginning on, the lowest pitch level, and the symbol [] before
any stressed syllable which is higher that the lowest pitch.
PRE-NUCLEAR PATTERNS
Up to now we have considered only sense groups with a single prominent
word right at the beginning of the group. Now we must consider sense groups
containing words before the nucleus. The pre-nuclear pattern is divided into
two parts, the h e a d and the p r e - h e a d. The head begins with the stressed
syllable of the first prominent word and ends with the syllable immediately
preceding the nucleus; the pre-head consists of any syllables before the stressed
syllable of the first prominent word.
In the example below, prominent words are underlined.
20
I
Pre-head
want to be absolutely
Head
sure
Nucleus
about it.
Tail
HEADS
The are three different types of head, the l o w h e a d, the s t e p p i n g
h e a d and the s l i d i n g h e a d.
Before the high-falling nucleus, the low head most often starts on a low
pitch but rises gradually, syllable by syllable, to end just before the starting
pitch of the nucleus.
E.g. How did you manage to do that?
The low head is symbolised by placing the mark [] before the stressed
syllable of each prominent word. The examples above thus reads as follows:
Dont be so impatient, then.
No-ones going to hurt you.
How did you manage to do that?
PRE-HEADS
The pre-head of a tune consists of the unaccented syllables before the
first accented one, whether the latter is the nucleus or the beginning of the
head. There are two types of pre-head, the l o w p r e - h e a d and the h i g h
p r e - h e a d.
22
The pitch is not so low as that of a final fall, but it must never be higher
than the starting pitch of the first accented syllable.
The high pre-head is very much less common than the low pre-
Part Three
INTONATION PATTERNS AND
THEIR ATTITUDINAL MEANINGS
Johnson.
Im a shop assistant.
This tone group is often used to denote the final item in a list, the other
items having rising tones.
E.g. You can have tea or |coffee or milk.
With special questions the tone is detached and reserved, they sound
rather flat and unsympathetic, quite often even hostile, and are consequently
less commonly heard than such questions with other tone groups.
With general questions Tone group 1 is used
(I) To put the question forward as a suggestion or a subject for discussion
24
rather than a request for immediate information. Again the general attitude is
detached, phlegmatic, reserved.
E.g. The knifes too blunt.
Ive got so many things to do.
When the fall is on the special finite verb the speaker is querying an
assumption on the part of the listener.
E.g. If we can afford, well go there. But can we afford it?
Isnt it lovely!
(III) Perhaps the most important use of Tone Group 1 with disjunctive
questions is for question tags when they follow statements containing the lowfalling nuclear tone. In such cases the speaker expects his statement to be
confirmed by the listener.
E.g. What a beautiful day, isnt it?
Have you?
Did he?
(IV) This tone group is used in alternative questions to mark the last of
alternatives.
E.g. Would you like tea | or coffee?
Interjections with Tone Group 1 sound calm, unsurprised, selfpossessed, reserved. They are generally only short phrases.
E.g. Good. Right. Good morning.
Tone Group 2
Tone Group 2 is used to give a categoric, considered, weighty,
judicial, dispassionate character to statements. Such pronoucements are
more emphatic and more ponderous-sounding than with Tone Group 1.
E.g. Are you sure?
What shall I do?
Absolutely certain.
I simply cant imagine.
With alternative questions this tone group is used to show the final
alternative of two or more.
E.g. Would you like coffee | or would you prefer tea?
This tone group is very common with interjections and gives weight
and emphasis to them.
E.g. Oh good! How ridiculous!
Greetings with this tone group are very intense, particularly if the first
word is accented.
28
30
No, | I havent.
Where?
Question tags have the High Fall on the special finite when the previous
statement has a High Fall in it, or when the preceding statement ends in a rise.
It expresses the speakers expectation of nothing but a confirmatory answer.
31
When the nucleus follows the special finite, the question is offered as a
subject for discussion rather than a request for information.
E.g. Nobody seems anxious to do it.
Commands with Tone Group 3 show more warmth than with the
previous tone groups, connoting a critical surprise that such an obvious
course should not have occurred to the listener.
E.g. Watch me jump off this wall.
Interjections with Tone Group 3 are more emotional, but also less
portentous, less weighty than those with Tone Group 2
E.g. Good morning, Jack.
Tone Group 4
With statements this tone group retains the lightness, the airness and
the effect of personal participation, characteristic of the High Fall nuclear
tone.
E.g. What time is it?
General questions have very much the same effect as those with Tone
Group 3 except that the impatience or querulousness is absent. The speaker
puts forward his question for discussion, or as the key question in the discussion.
E.g. Shall we take Frank into our confidence? Dare we risk it?
35
Certain.
(But) where?
Tone Group 5 with general questions is very often found with comments
of the type below, when it shows that the speaker accepts what has been
said and is impressed by it, either favourably or unfavourably.
E.g. He shot an elephant.
36
Did he?
This tone group is used with question tags when the preceding sense
group also has the Rise-Fall as its nuclear tone and the speaker wishes to
compel agreement.
E.g. Its terrible, | isnt it?
With fuller questions Tone Group 5 puts the matter forward for
discussion, with the same challenging, rather antagonistic note as with
special questions.
E.g. Can we afford to buy it?
My goodness.
Tune I. RISE-FALL+TAIL
Can you see?
Is he as tall as his father?
I was very cross with him.
Surely one of these screws will fit.
I finished well before time.
I hate it, but what can I do?
Did you finish that job?
Tune II. RISE-FALL ONLY
Did you see any lions?
37
Is it cheaper by coach?
You pay for it.
Well borrow a ruler.
May I take this newspaper?
Johns got it now.
Tune III. LOW-HEAD+RISE-FALL (+TAIL)
Can you manage alone?
I thought you didnt like spinach.
Why should you do the donkey work?
Ill make it soon, I promise.
You ought to apologise.
Everythings so dear.
Nobody seems at all keen.
Tune IV. (LOW PRE-HEAD+) STEPPING HEAD+RISE-FALL
(+TAIL)
Is he getting fatter?
Did you save time?
I dont like the man.
Which one shall I choose?
Would Max have a game?
Ive had this pain for days.
Can we afford to buy it?
Which one shall I buy?
Its not much of a cut.
Thank you so much.
38
Sometimes.
This tone group is also used for continutive purposes, to show that
there is more to be said, as, for example, in enumerations.
E.g. One, | two, | three, | four, | five,
Is it so very surprising?
Questions tags with Tone Group 6 leave the listener free to answer
either Yes or No, although it will be clear that the speaker inclines to one view
rather than the other.
E.g. Its about ten oclock, | isnt it?
he has certainly met the girl and formed an opinion about her niceness,
which he expects the listener to confirm; whereas when he says:
Shes a nice girl, | isnt she?
he has probably not met the girl concerned and is genuinely concerned
to have the listeners view.
The question tags will you?, wont you?, would you? are used after
imperative forms in order to make it plain that the command is in fact a form
of invitation.
E.g. Come and sit down, | wont you?
Direct question tags, i.e. those which are in the negative when the
preceding statement is in the negative, or in the affirmative when the statement
is in the affirmative, always bear Tone Group 6. Such utterances are used
to acknowledge something which has previously been stated, to refer back
to something already established and accepted by both parties.
E.g. What a lovely dress.
Tone Group 6 is not widely used with commands except those beginning
with Dont, when the effect is exactly the same as with statements. It is commonly
with a few short commands, when they constitute a rather calm warning or
exhortation.
40
Some short interjections quite commonly have this tone group; seem to
imply reserved judgment and to require more explanation from the hearer.
E.g. Its half past ten.
Tone Group 7
Statements with this tone tend to sound soothing, reassuring. No criticism
is implied such as found with Tone Group 6, but there is a hint of great selfconfidence or self-reliance on the speaker.
E. g. Are you ready to go?
I shant be a moment.
In echoed statements, those which repeat more or less what has just
been said by the other persons, this group turns the statement into surprised
and disbelieving question.
E.g. Hes broken his leg.
The same attitude is present in other statements which are not obviously
echoes.
E.g. I won the first prize.
This group is frequently used with unfinished groups, i.e. when the
speaker is leading up to something more; it is regarded by the speaker as being
important only as a preparation for what follows. Compare
I went up to him | and shook his hand.
I went up to him | and shook his hand.
42
In the first example there is only one episode with two phases, but in the
second there are separate episodes.
E.g. When I arrived | there was nobody at home.
I opened the door quietly | and looked in.
Note that when the nucleus is the interrogative word, the effect of
repetition and the puzzlement of Tone Group 6 returns.
E.g. I saw him at Wembly.
This tone group is by far the most common way of asking general
questions. It should be regarded as the normal way, and any other groups
should be in the special circumstances outlined in the appropriate place.
E.g. Are you coming with us?
Did you enjoy the play last night?
Greetings very frequently employ this tone group, when they sound
bright ant friendly. If the syllable before the nuclear syllable is stressed the
43
45
Forty?
When the nuclear tune is on the interrogative word, Tone Group 8 calls
for the repetition of information already given, as does Group 6, but the
wondering, puzzled flavour of Tone Group 6 is absent.
E.g. What was his name again? (Ive forgotten.)
Hes coming for how long?
When the nuclear tone is not on the interrogative word, the speaker is
often echoing listeners question in order to get it clear in his mind before
giving an answer; again there is no criticism implied as there is with Tone
Group 7.
E.g. Whens he arriving?
46
Is it raining?
Have you?
Did he?
What a shame.
The interjections Or and Really are often heard with this tone group,
when they are equivalent to the minimum comments, mentioned under General
Questions above.
E.g. Ive just seen John.
He said he was tired.
Oh?
Really?
48
I did on Saturday.
but this merely puts into words what the intonation has already
said. In the examples below possible extensions of the short answer are
added in brackets.
I didnt know you drank coffee.
This is the case mentioned in 1 above; the speaker concedes the listeners
point about the voice whilst implying reservations on other matters.
B.
This is the case mentioned in 2 above; the speaker asks the listener to
admit that the voice is good whilst leaving the way open for agreement on the
mediocrity of remainder. We might call the situation in 1 grudging admission,
and that in 2 reluctant or defensive dissent.
E.g.
Grudging admission
Id like it as soon as possible.
Can I take this one?
FURTHER EXAMPLES
Contradictions
John wont be here today.
Youre not trying.
I think he will.
I most certainly am.
Corrections
That shouldnt take long.
Did you say seventeen?
Is it?
Did he?
51
Commands with this tone have a warning note, but more urgency than
with Tone Group 6 or 7, since the reproach or concern mentioned in relation
to statements is also present here.
E.g. Mind. | (Theres a step here.)
Careful with that glass. | (Youll drop it.)
Not I.
54
Part Four
A PHONETIC READER
The Goat looked about him quickly. He saw two bushes close together.
Ah, the very thing, he said. Now Sheep, you stand between these two bushes
facing that way and Ill stand behind you, facing this other way. When Mr. Wolf
comes along, you talk to him and dont forget to tell him that you have two
heads, four eyes and eight legs. Youll do the talking in front, you see, and Ill
do the back chat from behind. Ah, here he comes. You are ready?
Maa, said the Sheep.
Good day, Sheep, said the Wolf. Im delighted to meet you.
You are very polite for a wolf, said the Sheep.
Im always polite to my dinner. I always think it goes down better if
you have been polite to it. I was just wondering where I should find my dinner
and your four legs have brought it to me.
Well the Sheep didnt like all this talk about the Wolfs dinner and said:
Youre wrong. I have eight legs.
At that the Goat began to shout: Of course I have eight legs and only
four of them are sheeps legs.
Whos that? asked the Wolf.
That is my other head, said the Sheep.
Let me get at that Wolf, shouted the Goat.
There, said the Sheep, my two heads are quite different. This head
Im talking with is very quiet and eats grass, but my other head is loud and
fierce and eats nothing but wolves.
The Wolf began to feel frightened. Does your heard, your other head
really eat wolves? he asked.
Yes, but not more than one a day.
And its not enough, shouted the Goat. Im always hungry. I could
eat a hundred wolves.
The Sheep turned her head: You can have this one standing in front
here, but that is all you can have today.
No, no - no. shouted the Wolf. Down went his tail and he ran for his
life. The Sheep ran after him and the Goat ran backwards after the Sheep
shouting: Wolf for dinner, Wolf for dinner.
But the Wolf never looked back. Helter-skelter he went to his den. Into
it he rushed and stopped there in the dark for days and days.
And then Sheep and Goat went quietly on their way talking about
things that began with W-things like w i n d s and w i n t e r and w i t c h e s .
I said two heads were better than one, said the Sheep.
And the Goat looked at her doubtfully and thought his own thoughts.
56
BILLY BOBTAIL
Once upon a time there was a little boy and his name was Billy Bobtail.
One day he made up his mind to go and seek his fortune. So he put on his
thickest pair of shoes because he might have to walk a long way and his warmest
coat in case the weather got cold and his green cap. And all the other things he
wanted to take with him he put in a very big red handkerchief and tied them up
into a bundle and put a stick through the knot and lifted it up onto his right
shoulder and set off along the road.
Good morning, Billy Bobtail.
Good morning, Pig.
Where are you going, Billy Bobtail?
Im going to seek my fortune.
May I come with you, Billy Bobtail?
Yes, certainly.
Good morning, Billy Bobtail.
Good morning, Cow.
Where are you going, Billy Bobtail?
Im going to seek my fortune.
May I come with you, Billy Bobtail?
Yes, certainly. Just walk along behind me.
Good morning, Billy Bobtail.
Good morning, Dog.
Where are you going, Billy Bobtail?
Im going to seek my fortune.
May I come with you, Billy Bobtail?
Yes, certainly. Just walk along behind me.
Good morning, Billy Bobtail.
Good morning, Cat.
Where are you going, Billy Bobtail?
Im going to seek my fortune.
May I come with you, Billy Bobtail?
Yes, certainly. Just walk along behind me.
Good morning, Billy Bobtail.
Good morning, Donkey.
Where are you going, Billy Bobtail?
Im going to seek my fortune.
57
Perhaps theres someone in the house. Keep very still and listen. I
cant hear anything, can you?
No.
I wish I could see better. But its getting so dark.
I can see in the dark, Billy Bobtail, and no one can hear me when I
walk. Shall I go and look into the little house, Billy Bobtail, and come back
and tell you what I see?
Yes, please, Cat. Do go.
So the Cat went off to look at the house and presently came back again.
Its a lovely empty little house, Billy Bobtail. I think we could spend
the night there quite safely.
So Billy Bobtail and all the animals went into the little house.
What a lovely little house. I shall sleep in this room.
I shall lie down at the door.
I shall sleep beside you.
I shall roost on the fence outside and wake you when the sun rises.
I shall lie down under this bush outside the door.
Its such a fine night. Ill go out and stay outside.
I think so too. Ill go with you, Cow.
Well good night, animals.
Good night.
And when the Cock crew, Billy Bobtail and all the other animals woke
up and had a really good look round the house now that it was light.
Well I think this little house is my fortune. Shall we stay here, Cow?
Yes, and I can give milk and butter.
You can ride on my back to town to sell the butter.
There are plenty of acorns for me in the wood. I shall be very happy
living here.
I think this is a good place. There are plenty of rats and mice.
Im going to catch a rabbit for dinner now.
And youll need me to wake you up in the morning, wont you, Billy
Bobtail?
Yes, we shall. Im glad Ive found my fortune.
So Billy Bobtail and the animals lived happily in the middle of the
wood ever after.
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So the five of them made a home together. Then a fox came running
along and asked: Whose little home is that? Who lives in that little house?
I Buzzer the Fly.
I Droner the Gnat.
I Nibbler the Mouse.
I Croaker the Frog.
I Bandy-legs the Hare. And who are you?
Renard the Fox.
Come and live with us.
So the six of them made a home together.
Suddenly a wolf ran up: Whose little home is that? Who lives in that
little house?
I Buzzer the Fly.
I Droner the Gnat.
I Nibbler the Mouse.
I Croaker the Frog.
I Bandy-legs the Hare.
I Renard the Fox. And who are you?
Prowler The Wolf.
Come and live with us.
So the seven of them made a home together.
And then at last a bear came up and knocked: Whose little home is
that? Who lives in that little house?
I Buzzer the Fly.
I Droner the Gnat.
I Nibbler the Mouse.
I Croaker the Frog.
I Bandy-legs the Hare.
I Renard the Fox.
Prowler The Wolf. And who are you?
Im the Crusher of you all.
And the bear sat down on the little house and crushed it to smithereens.
And Buzzer and Droner and Nibbler and Croaker and Bandy-legs and Renard
and Prowler all ran away because they were so frightened and they couldnt
live in the little house.
What a pity Old Crusher the Bear came along.
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KITTEN SARAH
Mrs Tabbywhite and her kitten Sarah lived in little thatched cottage in
a corner of a big field. There was a wooden fence round the back garden to
keep out the rabbits who lived in the field beyond and who simply loved Mrs
Tabbywhites juicy green lettuces. Now Mrs Tabbywhite was worried, because
Sarah, her kitten, who should have been white all over would not wash herself.
She just said, Whats the use of washing? I shall only get dirty all over again.
One day, when Sarah was playing with a piece of straw in the vegetable
garden, she suddenly saw a brown rabbit scampering off though a hole in the
fence with one or Mrs Tabbywhites young lettuces in his mouth. Sarah rushed
across the garden but hed gone. And then, just as she was going to run off and
tell her mother that impudent rabbit came back and said, Very good lettuces.
Thats my third this morning. So long, and he vanished again. Sarah raced
into the cottage, crying, Quick. Theres a funny brown rabbit stealing our
lettuces.
But how did he get in?
Through a hole in the fence. Quick. We must stop it up with a piece of
wood or hell be back for another.
Mrs Tabbywhite hurried out into the garden and nailed a piece of wood
over the hole.
How I hate these rabbits. Theyre so rude. I am glad I am not a brown
rabbit.
And the grubby little kitten tossed her head in the air and felt quite
proud of her dirty little self. Now when Mrs Tabbywhite heard Sarah say that
she looked thoughtful. I believe Ive thought of something to cure Sarah at
last, she said to herself and she purred because she was so pleased.
That afternoon Mrs Tabbywhite went down alone to the village. She
called at the bakers, the grocers the butchers and the fishmongers and she
said to each one of them, When my dirty little kitten comes in tomorrow to
do the shopping, please say to her, We dont serve brown rabbits here. Then
Mrs Tabbywhite went off home looking very pleased with herself.
Next day she asked Sarah to do the shopping for her. She gave her a
shopping basket and a list of these things to buy: a loaf of bread, a tin of
sardines, two lambchops and two pounds of fresh haddock and so off went
Sarah.
When she got to the village she looked at the shopping list and went first
to buy a loaf of bread.
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So Sarah began to lick her fur, and Mrs Tabbywhite began licking her
too. She washed and washed Sarahs head until it was as white as milk. But
Sarah didnt see the twinkle in her mothers eye and she didnt hear Mrs
Tabbywhite laughing next day when she thanked the baker, the grocer, the
butcher and the fishmonger for helping her to cure Sarah. And Sarah never
forgot the day she was taken by everybody for a brown rabbit.
And after that she always washed herself twice a day, just in case it
happened again.
You are only going into the garden, arent you, Thomas?
Yes, but its dangerous work shooting slugs. So give me a kiss.
Goodbye, Thomas. Be careful.
I will. Goodbye, Maria, goodbye.
Thomas crept very carefully up to a big fat lettuce and fired his little
gun. But did the slugs mind? No, not they. They laughed more then ever in
their slimy way. And they ate up all the peas and then turned about and went on
eating the lettuces.
Maria peered cautiously round the corner and whispered:
Thomas, how are you getting on?
They didnt mind the pop gun at all.
Oh dear. We shant have any lettuces left when little Tim comes home.
Poor Thomas and Maria Rabbit. They hopped sadly down the long
passage into the kitchen of their house. And then Maria had an idea.
I know we must frighten them away. Well play on squeaker grasses
and terrify those slugs.
Thomas and Maria ran out into the meadow and picked long broad
grasses. They each held one grass tightly across their front teeth and blew hard.
And then they crept very close to the lettuces and stooped down low and blew
long squeaking noises on their squeaker grasses. The greedy slugs raised their
heads. They waved their fat bodies joyously and laughed their slimy laugh:
Very sweet music at our feast. Very sweet music while we eat. And then they
laughed again happily in their slimy way and went on eating lettuce leaves.
Poor Thomas and Maria crept away to a corner of the garden quite out
of breath and sat down. Every now and then a slug would stop eating and say:
Very sweet music at our feast. Very sweet music while we eat.
Thomas and Maria sat for a long time listening to the nibble - nibble of
the slugs eating the lettuce leaves.
Oh, it isnt any use, Maria. We shant have a single lettuce left when
little Tim comes home.
Thomas, shall we try to poison them?
Thats a very good idea, Maria.
Then lets go to the kitchen at once and make a poison cake. it must
look and smell very nice and well put a tiny bit of poison in at the very end.
Maria made a very delicious cake with icing on top. But just before she
popped it in the oven she dropped in some dreadful poison from her poppyseed box. When it was baked, Thomas put it down on the ground close to the
lettuce bed. Then he and Maria hid so they could see what happened. Well, the
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slugs began to smell the cake, then they swarmed round, laughed their slimy
laugh and said: Jolly good cake, jolly good brown cake, jolly good sugary
brown cake. and smacked their mouths and turned back to the lettuce bed
and went on eagerly eating the lettuce leaves.
Its no good. My poison cake hasnt killed the slugs.
Lets drown them.
Yes. We could fill our lily-leaf buckets with water and drown them that
way, couldnt we?
So the two rabbits carried water from the pond and poured it right over
the slugs. But the slugs just enjoyed the water.
Nice cold drink. Nice cool shower. Nice cold bath.
They drank the water and washed in the water and they even had a little
swim in the water. Then they laughed again in their slimy way and went back
hungrier than even to the lettuce bed.
Oh, there wont be even a nibble of lettuce left when our little Tim
comes home.
Suddenly a voice called out and up rushed Tim hopping and skipping
and turning somersaults as he came towards his father and mother.
Hullo, hullo. Ive brought a friend to supper. Oh, but whats the matter?
Why are your ears drooping with sorrow? Whats wrong?
The slugs are eating all the lettuce, Tim.
We tried to shoot them and to frighten them with squeaker grasses.
And to poison them and drown them but they just go on eating the
lettuces.
Oh, is that all? My friend Thrush has just been wondering if youd have
meat for supper and I said we only had lettuces, didnt I, Thrush?
Yes, Tim . I think I can help you, help you if youll allow me, sir, allow
me, sir. Just watch me.
He hopped to the lettuce bed and began to work. He gobbled up the
slugs faster than you could count baby slugs, mother slugs, grandmother and
great grandmother slugs before they had time to take to their slimy heels.
Maria and Thomas stood and watched in wonder at his hug appetite.
Come and have supper with us whenever you like, Mr Thrush.
Youll always be welcome, Mr Thrush.
Yes, indeed. And now lets pick up our lettuces. Come on, Tim. Alls
well that ends well.
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The Titanic was on her maiden voyage. She was just the most
luxurious ship that had ever been built.
INTERVIEWER: More like a floating first-class than a ship, wasnt she?
AUTHOR:
Yes, exactly.
INTERVIEWER: When she went down, she was carrying some of the richest
people in Europe and America, wasnt she?
AUTHOR:
Yes, uh, huh ... people ... like John Jacob Astor and ... uh ...
Benjamin Guggenheim.
INTERVIEWER: How many lives were actually lost?
AUTHOR:
About ... 1,500 people.
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INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER:
AUTHOR:
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INTERVIEWER: And so the Californian just went on ... just went on ...
AUTHOR:
Just went on sailing away, in another direction ...
INTERVIEWER: But what about the life-boats? Why didnt the passengers use
the life-boats on the Titanic ?
AUTHOR:
Some did, but there werent enough life-boats ... you see,
everybody said the Titanic couldnt be sunk ... so it seems
nobody thought the life-boats would ever be necessary.
INTERVIEWER: And so ... 1,500 people were drowned.
Yes ... with a dance band playing, by the way.
AUTHOR:
INTERVIEWER: A dance band was playing music?
AUTHOR:
Yes, when the Titanic finally went down, a dance band was still
playing music up on the deck ... until the last few seconds ... you
see, they were trying to keep the passengers calm.
A DOUBLE LIFE
For the five last years Colin Harrison has been leading a life which was
described in court yesterday as a hellish nightmare of his own making.
Harrison, who is 34, met his first wife, Eileen, eight years ago. They soon had
two children and Harrison seemed to settle down in a Bristol suburb to a
solid, respectable life as a devoted husband and father. His only apparent
problem was his job as a long-distance lorry driver. This took him away for
almost half of every month on long drives up to the northeast of England,
particularly around Newcastle area.
However, as the court learned, after three years of marriage, Harrison
met another woman and fell in love with her. She was a pretty young widow,
Mrs Claudia Paisley, whose husband had died in a tragic motor car accident
two years earlier. Harrison married her as well, and began to lead a double
life.
The first was in his home in Bristol, and the second was in the village of
Ormley, near Newcastle, with his second wife. Neither of the two women
knew of each others existence. Harrison had two more children in his first
marriage, the last of which, a boy, was born nine month ago. His second wife,
Claudia, bore him a daughter around the same time. She already had two
69
71
Christina Rossetti
WHAT IS PINK? A ROSE IS PINK
What is pink? A rose is pink
By the fountains brink.
What is red? A poppys red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? The sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro.
What is white? A swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? A pear is yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? The grass is green
With small flowers between.
What is violet? Clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
Lewis Carroll
THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER
The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done
Its very rude of him, she said,
To come and spoil the fun.
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead
There were no birds to fly.
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76
77
Lewis Carroll
JABBERWOCKY
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Betware the Jubjub bird and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
And hast thou slain the Jabberwock!
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!
He chortled in his joy.
Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did grye and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
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William Shakespeare
SONNET 18
Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summers lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or natures changing course untrimmd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
SONNET 130
My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damaskd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound:
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JAQUES SPEECH
from As You Like It by W.Shakespeare
Act II, Scene VII
All the worlds a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurses arms.
And then the wining school-boy, with his satchel,
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannons mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lind
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, W. S. Living English Speech. London, 1958.
Alexander, L. G. Developing Skills. Longman, 1995.
OConnor, J. D. and Arnold, G. F. Intonation of Colloquial English.
London, 1961.
ONeill, R. Interaction.
ONeill, R. Kernel Lessons Plus. Longman, 1972.
Aprijaskyt R., Pasis L. Angl kalbos tarties mokymo vadovas.
Kaunas, 1983.
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ISBN 9986-869-26-9
A PHONETIC AID
For Students of English
Compiled by Jonas Skarulis